Darkness in the East
by Inheritanceftw
Summary: There is a darkness that lies over the east of Alagaesia, hiding secrets that are waiting to be discovered. Sequel to Distant Truths. On Hiatus at the moment.
1. Dagger in the Dark

Prologue – Dagger In The Dark

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Note: If you haven't read Distant Truths you almost certainly must do so before reading this as without reading the prequel none of the story will make sense. Just a forewarning! If you look on my page it should be there or just search 'Distant Truths' under Inheritance Cycle fics. Anyway I've wasted enough of your time! Enjoy the fic!

_The bar was empty except for a few seats here and there; it was late into the night, even into the next morning although Aris could not be sure, and the revellers of the pub had departed to their homes or rooms. Only he, Elena and another strange looking man remained._

_Sed man had his back rested against one of the clay brick walls; his hood obscuring the side of his face – for Aris' view was not a direct one. All that could be made of his appearance was a rather long nose and a pipe which poked out of his mouth. The dark haired rider had his suspicions of the man as he did not know him, at the moment; however, he knew that this man knew more than he. This may well have been the contact he and Elena had been advised to meet with._

_Glancing across he noted a certain wariness in Elena's visage which he had not noticed before. It was something bespoke of long days spent in the saddle and many more travelling by other means. She still retained her certain natural beauty but that was overshadowed by her fatigue._

_Aris leaned over and whispered to her, _"I think that's him, that's the contact,".

_She nodded slowly in agreement attempting to draw little attention to them, _"Yes. From what I have seen of him, the little that I have as his hood conceals his face well, the man fits the description almost exactly. Shall you or shall I?"

"If you wish to have the honour of introducing us to him be my guest," _Aris replied, motioning towards the hooded individual and grinning._

_As Elena rose from her seat to go and confront the man the doors of the pub flew open causing her to, instinctively, jump back into her place. A figure of what appeared to be a human stood at the door, legs spread wide and arms hanging at its sides; all that could be seen outside was the darkness of the night and the odd light in the distance. The man must have stood almost seven foot tall as he almost clipped the top of the doorframe with his bulky head. Aris was in awe of the person, mostly out of fear of the humongous man who stood before him; he seemed dangerous, threating. Even though Aris had not seen his face he could tell the man would be trouble._

_Attempting to gauge what the person's intentions were Aris sent out a mental probe, as he could sense Elena doing also as well as Arelía and Heleth, to see what he could glean from the mind of the man. When they reached it all that could be found was a mental fortress the likes of which Aris had never even witnessed before._

"More and more people are becoming skilled in mental protection these days," _The rider muttered to himself, _"I wouldn't be surprised if our ability of invading the minds of others will be redundant very soon.

_Striding forward the footsteps of the miniature giant rattled the battered floorboards; he noted that the hooded man now watched with intent also, curious as to whom the stranger was._

_Instead of heading to the bar where the landlord stood, as was the custom generally in pubs, the hulking beast bore down on Aris and Elena. As the man came into view Aris noted some of his features which the light now revealed. Piggish eyes seemed to have been bored into his skull and placed inside, leaving less space for his brain to fit in. There was not much room for that either as in comparison to the rest of his body the man's head was rather puny. Huge muscles rippled down his arms and thighs intimidating Aris, and Elena he assumed too, who lightly gripped the hilt of his rider's sword, ready for a fight._

"Found you." _The man declared, smiling savagely, almost with glee at what he was about to do._

"What do you want with us sir?" _Aris replied, attempting to be polite despite his fear and anger at this person approaching and threatening him and Elena._

"I want you dead,"

_Fast as lightning the hulking figure nimbly whipped out a throwing knife and hurled it with precision at Elena. Aris assumed that her wards would protect her; however, the blade passed straight through and penetrated her abdomen._

"Elena!" _Aris screamed, swinging at the man with his sword. The blade cleaved the man in two, no wards to protect him which the dark haired rider thought strange although at the moment he was more focused on tending to Elena._

"Elena," _He whispered, _"Elena…"

"Funny isn't it." _She was smirking now, _"How we are always brought down by the ones we think are the least dangerous. I shouldn't laugh now, in the face of death though… It's just… I don't know what to say…"

_He felt her life ebb away as he held her petite form in his arms; tears rolled down Aris' cheeks and onto her chest as he attempted to put energy into her to help Elena retain her conscious state._

"Aris! Give her to me, I can help!"

_Aris was unsure who was shouting at first until he noted that the hooded man now stood behind him, hood removed. The strange man was old, in his early sixties. He had a short, well-trimmed grey beard as well as grey hair which fell down to his shoulders. The hooded cloak he wore, the colour of the abyss, covered the rest of his body meaning that all could be made out was his face as well as his rather long nose but kind, warm blue eyes._

_Quickly the cloaked man rushed over and laid Elena down to the floor, he glanced at the form of the woman lying there with despair at the wound inflicted with a simple blade._

"Aris." _The man said, Aris' vision fading around him,_ "Aris, I need to tell you something. Aris!" _Suddenly the dark haired rider passed out and the vision was no more._

Aris shot up in bed, panting and sweating profusely.

_Eugh… Another nightmare… But. But what if that was a premonition? Like the other one._

_I wouldn't worry about that until it comes little one. _Arelía reassured her rider. _Now go back to sleep, and try not to wake Elena, she needs her rest too._

Carefully Aris lay back on the mattress trying not to hit Elena who lay asleep next to him. Sleep came back quickly and no more night visions troubled him.

For now.

Author's note: Oh my god! I'm back! Yes, I am not dead. At least I don't think so… I've just had a month or twos break from writing (at least it feels like that). College has been rather hectic recently as I have been working quite a lot to make sure I'm doing well and getting all my revision AND homework completed. Safe to say I am now in a good position to begin writing once more although don't expect as regular updates. Apologies for this but I can't update every week; I'll update whenever I can though. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this prologue, it is a bit confusing I know but the italic text at the start will become clear later on ;p Thanks very much for reading, hope you enjoyed, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter (the first chapter) shall be out soon!


	2. Chasing Visions

Chapter one – Chasing Visions

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

_I shouldn't have run off like that…_

_Elena _was _hassling you quite a bit Aris; considering she did notice you wake up suddenly during the middle of the night. She has a right to be concerned for you are sort of 'together' now. It feels strange to see you like that, as if you were a couple almost. Not so long ago I was the one instructing you in how to court a young woman._

_Court? _Aris released a short bark of laughter, _more like forced me to go out with her. Besides, we've talked about my relationship too long; have you got your eyes on any dragons then Arelía?_

It was Arelía's turn to be annoyed; if she were a human she would have turned bright red in both embarrassment and anger.

_I don't think it's your place to be prying into my affairs little one. And besides, we're mentally linked. You should know from that where my interests lie._

_Oh… _The dark haired man looked down in defeat, _Yeh… We've been talking about this manner of things for far too long though; we should move on._

_I agree. As romantic and adorable as things can be it can become tedious if they dominate one's speech._

Aris nodded in agreement. He pulled himself back up onto the low tree branch where he sat; with low being twenty feet above the moss coated forest floor. The sun was now beginning to reach its peak, shining fractals of light down through the canopy and onto the forest floor as it commonly did so. Arelía had been the one to first discover this hiding place of sorts; she had stumbled across it during one of her flights two years ago and had been intrigued by the way many small brooks and streams ran through the stones and the moss. After landing and finding a comfortable place to rest her hide she had deemed the place her's and her rider's little place of respite where they could go to avoid the troubles of the world.

Aris stared into the sky, shading his eyes with one hand to stop the light from shining into them.

_You know. Staring at the sky like that makes me want to fly…_

Arelía didn't respond.

_Arelía, want to go for a flight?_

Still no response. Then a light snoring.

Padding silently across the moss and stone to his dragon's flank Aris slowly made his way to her side however before he could even reach her he received a mental growl followed by _don't you even dare._

_How did you notice me?! _Aris exclaimed.

_I'm not deaf you know, _Arelía chuckled, _I would like to go for a flight but not at the moment. I've been trying to keep myself awake for a while but I must sleep now; give me an hour and we can go._

A prolonged sigh came from Aris, _If you insist…_

Returning to the dark haired rider's previous place he lay against the branch of the tree and stared out at the forest above and below admiring the scenery trying to divert his thoughts from Elena and everything else that concerned him at the moment. The events of the past had precipitated into his mind now leaving behind a slight scar but one that was ignored most of the time. This sat alongside his physical scar, or mental rather, with his maimed mental communication. However, as the forest was rather open and spacious it was not usually a problem. As long as there was a way for his thoughts to travel, be it through an open window or door, he had to expend a little more energy to get them to the required person or dragon.

One thing that came back to him was that moment when he had stood on the hilltop at Finwë's funeral staring out into the distance.

_Indeed it is; but there lies darkness lies in the east, one that must be uncovered._

Those words passed through his mind as they had done many times before since he had uttered them to Elena. She had not brought up the east, not after their last experience there, nor of travelling anywhere at all since that moment. The brown haired rider had been more focused on her training of late, as had Heleth, for they were a year ahead of Aris and Arelía so their tutelage had become that bit more difficult. Elena often would stay up into the early hours writing or reading or even practicing sparring with the dummy they had set up outside of their abode. Aris sometimes joined her but mostly he stayed and slept for he was tired after a long day of working and physical exertion.

Aris did fear that Elena was becoming an insomniac, a word which he had recently learnt and was proud of remembering for a few years ago he could barely speak his own language with the correct grammar. But he supported her, questioning her decisions little, and gave his input on things. They still argued admittedly like they used to but they knew as did Arelía and Heleth that Aris and Elena were prone to such things and it was not a sign that they were breaking up.

Thinking again of the east and what lay there Aris contemplated visiting there at some point in the future but couldn't think that far ahead. He had come to terms with the fact that he, as a rider, was now immortal but the time scale was so immense any person who had previously been mortal could not comprehend such things easily.

_The East… I wonder… Riders have visited there before so there must surely be something there. It's just when, where to and how. Perhaps if I… No I couldn't do that. To throw away my training on a whim. I don't even know if it's safe or not._

_But it's the danger that drives you. _Came the reply from Arelía whom Aris had thought was asleep but had sensed otherwise through their link.

_Yes… That essence that drives everyone. If we organised with Eragon I'm sure he'd let us go; we could say it was to further our training-_

Aris was cut off, _Firstly, it is very unlikely he would agree to that after last time and secondly he'd want someone to accompany us so it wouldn't be just you and Elena. Yes I can tell you want some time alone with her like you haven't really had before._

_What?! That's not what I mean I-_

Arelía gave a mental sigh, _It is little one, I tire of this. It is rather amusing, or at least it once was. It's pretty obvious that you and Elena are together now, you live together and you do that strange human thing at night where-_

It was the dragon's turn to be interrupted, _Arelía; don't talk about that. I know what we do as a couple but you shouldn't be prying in on it._

_It's not my fault we have a mental link is it? No. Blame the original Eragon and his pact between us and you strange humans. Now I must truly sleep so leave me be. _

And with that she shut off her mind to her rider. She hadn't done that for almost a year.

_Wow… Oh well. I can think to myself now. _Aris thought with a positive attitude – one which he had gained over the years. _What was I pondering… Ah yes, the east. I do wonder what lies there… That gives me an idea!_

Springing down from the branch to another one and down the tree with agility, something that he had gained from his training and becoming a rider as even his ears were now rather tapered so he did not appear fully human, he made his way down the tree to the forest floor and began sprinting back towards the buildings of the rider's sanctuary. Arelía was completely oblivious to where her rider was going but Aris ignored that fact and instead focused on the one idea that was in his head – focusing on getting the book.

This book resided in the restricted portion of the library so he would have to ask the librarian to get it – that being of no issue of course as Elena knew the man well. After their last encounter with Glaedr however… Aris wasn't so sure that the man would trust him. It was worth a try though.

And so sprinting as fast as his long legs would take him Aris nimbly made his way across the rocky and mossy forest floor towards the large building that dominated the central complex to find the one book that he desired to read; one which he had only glanced at once before during a lesson. One that recounted the places of the East.

Author's note: Erm… Well sorry about this guys and girls. It has been a rather long wait since the prologue but I have finally managed to get round to writing the first chapter! Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to rate and review and, I hope, the next chapter shall be out some time in the next 500 years!


	3. Hunting for Answers

Chapter two – Hunting for Answers

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Sidling past yet another person Aris continued walking at a brisk pace towards the large building that now loomed before him. Not much could be seen of the library atop the massive structure except for the large panoramic windows which adorned the sides of the room, where there were not book cases to block the light entering of course.

The rider paid no heed to anyone who got in his way and almost pushed an elf into the stairs at one point in his haste, although the elf was rather agile and managed to nimbly move out of the way of the hassled man. Leaving Arelía and Elena far behind now, as the latter person was back at their house, Aris kept on walking through the grand entrance and quickly turned left heading upwards towards the nearest flight of stairs. As Aris reached the top of the many stairs that he had just climbed he let out a large breath before inhaling deeply and continuing briskly onwards.

Entering the library Aris glanced around for the librarian, for he required his permission to acquire the book he desired. There was no desk in particular for riders could normally remove books at will, it wasn't as if they could steal them – they were in the middle of an isolated valley with almost a week's ride to the nearest allied settlement.

The librarian was found with little difficulty for it was rather obvious it was him. The man was stood poring over a thick book with a black cover and gilded trim, his glasses on the tip of his nose as he inspected a particular word. Since he had last met the librarian Aris thought the human had become more weathered and worn with grey streaks highlighting his age, whereas Aris had escaped the ravaging hunger of time.

Strolling casually over, attempting not to draw undue attention to his rather sweaty self, Aris edged towards the man as he carefully turned a page of the behemoth of a book.

"Hello there." The librarian said cheerfully without even lifting his head from his work.

"Wh- how did you know I was there?!" Aris exclaimed, a little bit too loud for a library.

The man shushed him, "Quiet, this _is _a library you know. And I knew because I sensed you running towards here at great pace; as they say – with great age comes great wisdom, or something like that at least."

"Yes, yes I've heard the saying." And Aris had, his mother and father had used to use it when talking about Aris' grandparents. They had died when he was five.

_Perhaps I could visit where they were buried… _He considered the possibility for a second, _No… It wouldn't be viable._

"Then you are rather well studied on human culture then, for it is a common saying of our folk. The elves don't seem to appreciate such things as much." Aris hummed in agreement, "Well, why are you here then? To have some crazed Eldunarí shout at me again?" The man remained completely calm whilst asking this, he even had a slight grin upon his lips.

"Erm… No, not this time." Aris laughed nervously, "I was wondering if you could help me find something, a book which I saw some time ago."

"A book? I'm sorry, libraries don't have any of those."

The rider looked at the librarian quizzically.

"I'm just kidding with you," The man patted Aris' shoulder in a friendly gesture, "Come, I shall find this book that you seek." Neatly inserting a piece of paper inside the book that he held currently the librarian closed the black bound cover with a muffled _thud _before tucking it under his arm and striding forwards towards the far end of the library.

Curious about this strange book Aris enquired, "What is that book? It seems rather valuable."

"It is Aris, indeed it is. This is the Dominr, Abr, Wyrda an account of all of the history of Alagaesia since even before the first elves landed on their silver ships. There have been some additions in recent centuries by our own Eragon; this one is merely a copy, which I handwrote myself might I add, which I read for my own personal pleasure and benefit. In fact I am lucky to be even reading this considering the past circumstances…"

"What were these circumstances?" Aris asked, now intrigued by this piece of literature.

"Well, they were all set to be burnt by king Galbatorix, whom you should have heard of, but a few managed to be salvaged… Somehow…" There was a tone of sorrow and sadness to the man's tone, as if he had lost a close friend.

"That's amazing. So we are fortunate to be seeing this now?"

"Yes, that is what I said." The librarian replied abruptly. "Anyway," He turned towards a shelf and pulled out a thin, tattered book, "Is this what you came here for?"

Aris stared with amazement, "It is! How did you know?"

"I note the desires and wishes of the people who come here; I know that you want knowledge of your homeland to the east and the lands beyond there so I kept a record on this for you. Be careful, it is rather… delicate."

"I shall, thank you very much." Aris replied gratefully.

"It is of no problem. I shall leave you be now, there is a desk where you can sit and read just down the way. Once you are finished find me and if you so wish you can take this book with you; I say this because the magical seal has to be deactivated otherwise you would be in for quite a shock." Light came back to his face after his sorrowful moment at the mention of this strange device used to keep the high priority books and texts safe.

"Right… Thanks a lot anyways; any messages I could pass onto Elena for you at all?"

"Now you mention it tell her someone dropped by earlier who wanted to speak to her. She wouldn't give her name but insisted that Elena were to come and see her immediately – this person is staying in one of the residences in this building."

"Very well, again – thank you." And he waved goodbye to the librarian as he strode away back towards the main part of the library.

Finding the aforementioned desk Aris sat down and began reading. He had only seen this book before and not fully read it so it was rather interesting to see its true contents.

The man sat entranced for several hours simply reading the tales of the man who had written – a certain rider by the name of Lornar Thorgulsson, a man from the north of Alagaesia near the village of Therinsford. He told of several cities and some strange occurrences but apart from that the content was rather thin; although a map of what he had discovered was included and Aris made a mental note to copy down whatever he could as soon as he got back home – regardless of what Elena, Arelía or Heleth said, but the crimson dragon rarely protested to his doings so he did not worry about that.

Scanning it for almost twenty minutes Aris noted several places he had travelled by on the way to the rider's sanctuary – namely, his starting point, where it all began – his home town.

On the map it was labelled with a small house symbol, which Lornar had used to represent a town, and a name sat by it – The Orchard's Resolve.

_Strange… I always thought of it as Hallow vale. But it must be there, according to this map it sits in the far mountains and the route there goes past some of the landmarks I saw. This changes my view on things, I've already uncovered some of that darkness already. I wonder if- _His train of thought was interrupted as he read the back of the book.

_Lornar Thorgulsson – Born: Year 407 after landing of the elves. Died: Year 773 after landing of the elves. Cause of death – unknown, body not yet found._

_Now I can't ask him what he found there! And his death… It seems mysterious. It's 2000 years ago now though so there's nothing left of him… That's my plan scuppered._

The rider continued reading deep into the afternoon and as the sun dropped below the horizon so too did his head lower towards the desk out of exhaustion and the fading of his excitement. He had read the book over and over to try and decipher as much as he could but to little avail.

Just as he dropped into sleep he heard a whisper in his ear, "Aris, wakey, wakey."

He grunted in response.

"Come on Aris, time to go back now. You've been here long enough."

The man could tell now that it was a female voice that spoke to him lightly; he shot up thinking it was Elena and glanced around to see no one there.

_Oh… I must have been dreaming…_

_Aris you need to come back now, it's getting late. _Came an actual mental message.

_Elena? _

_Who else stone ears, _She retorted, using the common dwarf insult which Durum had recounted many a time. _Now get back, you're getting me that bit worried about you._

_Elena, I'm a dragon rider. I hardly need to be home for tea by six._

_Well you do if you want to live with me. _She chuckled in her own mind, _I'm just kidding. It's getting late now and you'll go hungry, so please come back now okay?_

_Okay… _Aris replied begrudgingly, setting out back towards his home making sure to check in with the librarian on the way out so that he could take the book home to study whenever he had the time.

Walking into the darkness of the forest he created a small globe light to guide him through the deep and dark forest whilst using the many intertwining paths that littered the forest floor. Whilst he strode through the forest a figure could be seen watching out from a small natural window in the building; they seemed inpatient. Impatient at the fact that they weren't getting the answers they needed.

Author's note: Ermahgerd. A new chapter! Good thing I built a time machine! For it is now the year 2512 and you can simply write with the power of your mind. Convenient eh?

Anyway on a more serious note sorry for not having a chapter sooner. I've got exams coming up in January and have literally had homework piled on top of me so I can't breathe; along with the fact my ideas bank has been running dry, I'll have to get onto Natwest about that…

But anyway, here is the chapter. Hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out soon.


	4. Forewarning

Chapter three – Forewarning

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Aris shot up out of his bed, eyes darting around as he scanned the room. No longer was he safe back at sanctuary with Elena and Eragon. No. Now he was in the wilderness travelling as he had wished for so long to do, except his adventures so far had not proved fruitful.

Himself and Elena had been journeying eastwards for almost a month now and had come across two settlements. One of which was completely deserted, seeming to have been ransacked and abandoned many years past, and the other. That which they were staying in now.

When Aris and Elena had neared the town each rider had respectively instructed their dragon to go and hide nearby, not wanting to scare the locals with the presence of two huge fire breathing lizards who could also converse with astounding grammatical capabilities. From the stories that Aris had heard when he was but a small child naïve to the world outside he had been told of the glory of the dragon riders and how these seemingly angelic people would save them from tyranny. On the flip side Aris understood that people may also have heard other 'versions' of these tales. Ones which could make them rather hostile towards dragons and the people who rode them.

Now returning his attention to the cold, dark room of the room sat above the bar Aris detected a certain chill in the air – one that was not entirely natural.

Then it dawned on him. Reality striking his face like a dragons talons hitting an unknowing Urgal. The dream that he thought he had just witnessed, was not a dream at all...

The young man had seen the very vision of Elena being stabbed all those years ago, casting it aside as some sort of strange machination of his own mind. Yet he had dreamt of the very time that he had seen the vision that had played out before his eyes but hours before Aris had just awoken.

Just to be sure this was not some trick that his mind was, completely unbeknown to Aris, playing on him Aris did the first thing that he should do in this situation and performed that action. He pinched his arm...

All he received was a rather sharp pain in the inner side of his elbow, at the joint where his lower and upper arms joined.

Aris cursed under his breath. Now he knew that all this was real...

As some final sign of conformation the old man whom he had thought some character created by his own mind was sat directly across the room from the bed where Aris lay, the man's hood hanging behind his head as he dozed silently – his mouth opening occasionally to let out a miniature snore.

_Elena. Where's Elena?! _The thought rushed to Aris' head, propelled by the adrenaline that now coursed through his exhausted body.

The rider's deep breaths must have woken the old man as he open his eyes wearily and glanced across at Aris, a quizzical look upon his aged visage.

"And what, my good sir Aris, might you be looking at me like that for?" He said, completely and utterly calm in his intonation of the sentence as if nothing was amiss.

"What's wrong?!" Aris shouted, noting how loud his own voice was in the quiet that surrounded the room at the early hour of the morning. Speaking again, this time quieter and in a calmer tone, the young man asked, "What do you think is wrong?" This time the sentence came out as a hiss, making it seem even more vehement.

"Aside from the fact that Elena is lying perfectly well in the bed next to you I don't think anything is wrong."

If there was a face which showed that someone had absolutely no idea what was going on at that moment in time, Aris was replicating that to the old man.

"If you don't believe me, check the bandaging yourself. I doubt you'll find any better in the whole of Ratiavik."

Ratiavik was the region that they were in so Aris understood what the man was on about; yet he seemed entirely foreign to Aris. However, he had known exactly who Aris and Elena were, and the fact that made the man even more suspicious to Aris – where they were.

Dispelling his doubts for the moment Aris removed the bedding that had been wrapped around Elena to find a fresh bandage wrapped around her lower chest, covering up the wound that she had sustained.

"It was a nasty wound" The elderly man explained rather briefly, "But even though it cut through her wards the blade was not poisoned. They only wished to _attempt _to kill you. Either that or they were incredibly incompetent. Although the latter is incredibly unlikely."

Aris nodded, agreeing with him. His voice seemed to flow smooth as a river in summer edging its way through lush green fields. The man was convincing.

"I see. I guess I can't thank you enough for the help you've given me and Elena. Now if you don't mind I think we'd prefer it if you weren't sitting in on us whilst we're in bed." There was a slight hostility to Aris' tone, but there was also a hint of respect and awe at the old man and what he had done for the couple. Aris was in his debt but he wasn't foolish enough to allow a stranger to sit in their room possibly plotting their deaths after the failure of the last man.

"But you need me Aris. You don't know it yet, but the time will come." Aris was about to ask exactly what the ranting elderly gentleman was on about when the hooded man raised a finger to stop Aris, "I haven't finished yet young boy." The use of the word seemed degrading to Aris after so long being called 'rider' or known as a man. "I was about to say that I know you are dubious of my presence here but you need me. You are a no-man in a no-man's land as the saying goes. I thought you may want a guide of sorts." A mocking smile curled at the edge of his lips, quickly disappearing as soon as it had come to be.

"I wouldn't say no but considering the current circumst-"

Again the young rider was cut off, making him rather impatient now.

"Oh and I forgot to say Aris, the most important thing of all. The reason I knew you is because... Well how can I put it?"

It was a rhetorical question but Aris prompted the man anyway "Go on then, spit it out. You're some long lost cousin of mine? The previous owner of my pet goldfish? What is it?"

"None of those actually, contrary to your own beliefs as I am an avid collector of goldfish. The fact of the matter is Aris, I'm Elena's uncle."

At this point the lone female in the room shot up, "What did you just say?" She must have been awake for some time now as the brown haired female seemed to be rather alert for someone who had, but a few seconds ago, been sound asleep.

"I said that I'm your uncle."

The room seemed to distort now, the whole world bending around Elena and Aris as the revelation was revealed.

"I'm just jesting, I said that to get you listening _properly_. I knew you were awake so I simply prompted you to sit up in bed and be a part of our delightful little conversation.

What I was actually going to say is that I knew your father, Aris. Before Hagnar came... That bastard. But where are my manners? I haven't even told you my name! A pleasure to meet you both, I'm Reinard son of Bjord."

Author's note: Hi guys. Here's the latest chapter for the fic, I suppose. Hope you enjoy it. It was written on my new computer using LibreOffice so the formatting may be slightly different or something. Anyway, here's a little apology on my behalf:

I'm deeply sorry for the lack of chapters over the past however many months that I've not been writing for. It's just, I don't know what happened... I had my exams in January, which went okay I hope, and I've recently acquired a rather good gaming computer which I have been getting a really good use out of. It is incredibly fast but that's beside the point I'm trying to make here.

I shouldn't have left you guys in the dark all this time, if you'll pardon the pun. I feel bad for doing so but I hope that you can enjoy the chapter that I've posted here and there may be some more to come but no promises. Thanks ever so much for reading, don't forget to rate and review and never forget - remain in the shadows readers (that's my new little end thing :p).


	5. An Alternate Perspective

Chapter four – An Alternate Perspective

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

The Raz'zac hissed slightly as it paused mid-sentence "Yesss massster. I have found them. That sssstupid brute failed in killing the brown haired one."

An ominously shadowed man nodded his head in acknowledgement, "Well he won't fail again. Considering he is now dead. We need to send out another agent."

The Raz'zac grinned, a horrible gruesome grin. "I've already... Arranged it."

Author's note: A very short chapter but it's just to advance the plot slightly and so I can post something this weekend. Thanks for reading and don't forget to rate and review. Thanks guys :)


	6. The Guide

Chapter five – The Guide

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

The sun moved monotonously upwards towards its summit, sending beams of light shining into the room where Aris and Elena lay. The murky window blocked out most of the rays but a sparse few managed to make it through the gaps in the grime falling onto Aris' visage – waking him.

Slowly rising the rider noted the presence of a man in the chair on one side of the room who was sound asleep, the tip of his hood rested forwards over his face obscuring his features. However, this was a person whom Aris knew now. At least he thought that he did and what had transpired the day before was not a dream.

It wasn't.

Reinard, son of Bjord, was still very much alive and well.

_Yet again the people who I least want to see manage to appear at the least opportune moment. I am probably the unluckiest person in the world._

_I know people who are less fortunate than you have been of late little one. _Came the soft, yet deep, voice of Arelía – Aris' dragon.

_You mean her? _Aris sent his dragon an image of Elena, who still lay asleep next to him.

_Yes. _Was the simple reply.

_I know she has Arelía but... I was speaking more generall- _Aris was interjected with a threatening mental growl, one which seemed to echo through his mind much more so than the real thing. The lesson that he had learnt long ago sprung to mind after he had uttered that sentence – never argue with a dragon.

_Sorry Arelía... You're right again of course._

A satisfied humming was her response.

_So have you got any plans for today?_

_Not really. Though I suspect yours will be more eventful._

_Well Reinard did offer to be a guide but... There's something about him. I don't want to trust him, I've had enough experience not to trust any old stranger who I wake up next to, but the man is convincing I'll give him that._

_Indeed. _Arelía's reply seemed as if she was nervous, the way she conversed when she was nervous. Although Aris didn't press the matter, he suspected that his dragon was hiding something from him.

Again.

_Ah well. _Aris continued, trying to steer the conversation away from that topic. _I'd better greet our guest._

Rising from the bed and retrieving his clothes, which had been scattered across the floor, Aris began dressing and washing himself. First he bathed his face in water from a bowl on the windowsill, making sure to remove all the grime and dirt out of the pores; this took some time as he and Elena had spent quite some time travelling without a proper place to stay. Next, Aris nimbly slipped into the elven made shirt that he had been given when living back at Sanctuary before putting on his trousers and socks. Only once his routine had finished, and his boots were on his feet, did he walk over to the old man who had helped both him and Elena.

"Morning." Reinard said cheerily, not rising fully from his stupor.

"I assume you heard me getting dressed then?" Aris replied in a flat, almost bitter, tone.

"Pretty much." the elder man opened his eyes now, sitting straight and returning Aris' hard stare, "You could've woken even a dwarf with that racket."

"I apologise greatly then," Sarcasm was evident in the rider's voice but Reinard did not rise to the taunt, "Shall we plan what is to be done today then? You said you wished to be our guide so, as all good guides do, you need to plan where it is that we will go. The sights we'll see, the wonders we shall visit. You'd best get into action as we wish to be out of here sooner rather than later."

The man stared at Aris as if he were some cretin, "right lad, I think we need to get a few things clear here." Reinard rose to his feet and began pacing the length of the room, floorboards creaking under his feet as he moved, "When I said 'Guide' I did not add to the end of that sentence 'of every single nook and cranny east of Alagaesia. Have you ever wondered why there seems to be a darkness here? Because there is _nothing _to see. Nothing!"

The man's anger was rising now yet he still managed to maintain a steady tone, "I was sent to find you and Elena to protect you. And escort you in fact, my superior has a great desire for many years to meet a dragon rider in person and now that one has come to this land..." He left the end of the sentence open, its ending obvious.

"So you expect me and Elena just to willingly follow you to some unknown place to meet your mysterious superior? Pah! I don't think so."

"I don't think you really have much choice in the matter," A hard note crept into his tone now, scaring Aris slightly, "Elena is injured rather badly and you have no clue where you are going in this land. A not so perfect situation to be in without aid of some sort. And that I believe is where I come in."

Aris sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hand in an attempt to suppress his current headache, "I suppose you have a point. I'll have to consult with Elena though."

By inferred invitation Reinard left the room, gently closing the door behind him to allow Aris and Elena some peace.

As soon as the old man had departed Aris let out a loud sigh to release the pent up tension. Elena noted this and sat up in bed, dragging the sheets up around her exposed body, "are you okay Aris?"

"What does it look like?" again he sighed, "This guy's our only hope I guess. You heard the conversation didn't you?" Elena nodded her head in response, her hair moving over her eyes forcing her to tuck it behind her ears. Aris thought she looked rather attractive like this, "I just don't know if we can trust him. He says he knew my father but that's like saying Eragon's your brother. There's no evidence."

"I agree with you on that point but we need a guide, we're lost here Aris face it. _And_ he helped heal me which you wouldn't have been able to do yourself. We are in his debt."

"You forget something Elena," Aris retorted, anger rising slightly now, "He wants to take us to see a mysterious figure who is his superior. But not just that – we don't know where he will take us, what he will do to us, what will happen to Arelía and Heleth. It's too dangerous."

"I know Aris... But he's the only hope we have."

There was no chance of swaying her without upsetting Elena and sending her off in a huge strop – which wasn't ideal considering she had just been stabbed the day before. It wasn't like when they were younger when the two of them used to bicker all the time, that of course being before they got into a serious relationship two years after the Hagnar incident.

"You're right Elena. Shall I let you get dressed before he comes back in?"

The brown haired woman nodded in response, motioning for Aris to turn his back whilst she got herself dressed.

"And no peeking." She said, managing to regain some of her more natural joking nature.

Once the two of them were packed and ready to depart, Elena having decided to prepare before they invited Reinard back in, did they call the old man back in.

"Have you come to a decision then?" The hooded man enquired, eyes greedy for the answer.

"I, that is we," Elena motioned to Aris, "have chosen to take your guidance. But only if, once we have met this master of yours, you let us go and give us directions to the nearest town so that we can make our own way from there."

"That is agreeable, and arrangeable." The man replied, "Yes, that seems good to me. Just be warned though, the distance that we must travel is large and we must traverse it on horseback."

_Horseback?_

_Horsewhat?!_

Came the retorts from the two dragons – Heleth and Arelía. Reinard grinned in response then began to converse with the dragons! Somehow knowing mind-speak but not having told Elena or Aris. The couple didn't question it though, with the amount of people trained in magic nowadays it was hardly a surprise.

_Horseback. I take it you dragons have heard of horses before? Though I assume they were only on the menu._

Arelía let out a small threatening growl.

_Never mind... As I was saying in order for me to guide you we must travel on horses in order for me to keep up and for us to avoid any patrols that have been sent out._

_Patrols? _Heleth seemed slightly concerned by this.

_There seems to be the presence of some other organisation amongst us. Each town in the east governs themselves but there have been talks of a certain group, whose name is unknown to me, that have taken to claiming these towns for themselves._

_Well we had best avoid them, _Arelía said.

_I agree. And also we should be off, are you ready Elena?_

The brown haired woman smiled warmly at her partner, _I'm ready. Let's just hope that our adventures prove more successful than our last venture._

Author's note: After doing 2 hours of stats and an hour of French I decided that I was fed up of standard deviation and wrote this :3 Hope you enjoyed the chapter. And yes, I know Reinard could travel by dragon back behind Aris or Elena but there is something he isn't telling us about that.

Anyway moving on from that point, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and the next one shall be posted the week after next. Although don't expect much as I'm very busy at the weekend and am getting my exam results on Thursday. As always don't forget to rate and review. Thanks guys :)

Note: Yes I know I posted this on the same day as my very short chapter but I didn't expect to be writing today. Hope this keeps you guys and girls entertained :) again thanks.


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